Jr. Sr. High School – Page 38 – Fairbury Public Schools

Escape Summer Slump with the 4 Cs

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by Darri Stephens SENIOR DIRECTOR, EDUCATION CONTENT

Common Sense Education

…While students are getting excited about their summer freedom, some parents and teachers might be worried about kids forgetting all they’ve learned during the school year.

This loss of academic skills over the summer months is what teachers refer to as “summer slide.” Some studies have shown kids can lose nearly two months of grade-level equivalency in reading and math over the summer break. Think about it: The brain is a muscle, and if you don’t use it, you can lose it!

But remember, though kids are taking a break from school, they can still keep learning. One way is for them to be enriched by pursuing activities that promote the 4 Cs: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Media and technology can help kids build these skills, and summer is a great time for this kind of exploration.

We’ve put together a great list of apps, games, and websites that help kids build the 4 Cs, perfect for undercover summer learning. Share this list with your students’ parents so they can beat the summer slide!

Communication

Help kids express their opinions and emotions and connect with others with tools for video talks, podcasts, and storytelling.

TED/TED-Ed: Easily find, download, and view inspiring talks on a variety of topics

Youth Radio: A stellar take on the news from diverse kid journalists

Shadow Puppet Edu: Resource-rich video slide show creator a gem for elementary classrooms

Toontastic: Writer, actor, director: Kids play all parts in riveting storytelling tool

Collaboration

Kids can work together and take on the role of producer as they make multimedia productions.

Explain Everything: Powerhouse tool for creating stellar multimedia presentations

Educreations: Enliven lessons and presentations with easy-to-use tool

VoiceThread: Easily collaborate and create with voice, video, or image

Wikispaces: Powerful tool for creating collaborative websites

Creativity

Give kids the space to use their devices to become artists, musicians, or designers.

Paper by FiftyThree: Beautifully designed digital sketchbook for any age

Canva: Create snazzy designs in seconds with flexible, cloud-based tool

GarageBand: Amazingly powerful music workstation unleashes the musician in us all

DIY/Instructables: DIY communities empower kids to design, build, and share new things offline and online

Critical Thinking

Encourage strategy, ingenuity, and sharing of ideas with open-ended digital-creation tools.

Tinkercad: Amazingly simple yet powerful and flexible online CAD tool

MIT App Inventor: Fun programming site gets kids to build their own mobile apps

Scratch: Jump-start future programmers with adaptive sandbox tool

Minecraft: Spiraling sandbox of adventure and creation gets kids to dig deep

Personal Finance Classes Examine Car Buying Options

On May 5, students in the Personal Finance Classes traveled to C & O Ford in Fairbury to enhance their knowledge of car loans and buying a car. Mr. Larry Cote offered advice for buying a new versus a used car, explained the loan process, and gave tips about what to look for in a used car. Cote also discussed rebates on new vehicles, trade-ins, and the importance of credit. Students walked away with a better understanding of the car buying process. Junior Evelyn Deras commented, “I learned that there are a lot of steps to complete the process of buying a car and getting a loan. I also learned that you need credit to buy a car so that the car dealers know that you will be able to pay the car with no problem.” One of the students’ favorite parts of the trip was the opportunity to explore the array of vehicles on the car lot and compare prices and features of the vehicles.

Real Estate Market Explored

Personal Finance students embarked on an expedition to gain real-life knowledge and experience evaluating real estate. Realtor, Justin Schultis from Redstones Wolverhampton, met students at a home for sale in Fairbury to discuss the buying process, home values, and the importance of having a home inspection. Students gained a better understanding of the difference between the assessed, appraised, and market value of a house.

Students enjoyed the opportunity and learned a great deal from the excursion. Senior Brooke Eisenhauer described the experience by saying, “I think going on an actual visit made it easier to understand the process of buying a home. It made it easier to determine the things that you need to inspect before making a purchase of a home. The initial visit was a great way to apply what we know, and learn more about the house buying process. It was helpful to have a real estate agent there with us to answer our questions because he deals with this type of work on a daily basis. The overall experience helped a lot in making house buying more relatable.”

Golfers Take 2nd at Fairbury Invite!

The Jeff Golfers competed in the Fairbury Invite on April 20th. The Jeffs placed 2nd as a team. Individual medalists include: Nick, 3rd with a 78, Justin Peterson, 6th with an 81 and Zach, 10th with an 85. Good Job Golfers!

Jeff Golfers Compete in York

On Thursday, April 14th the Boy’s golf team competed in the York invite. York is a very difficult course that has hosted districts before. Conditions were tough with some stiff winds, picking up in the afternoon. Nick Christiansen led the Jeffs with an 87. Justin Peterson carded an 88, followed by Robby Meyer posting a 94. Zach Reikofski shot a 103 and Anthony Moyer rounded out the scoring with a 111. The Jeffs finished in 10th out of 16 teams shooting a 372. The Jeffs will next be in action on Wednesday, April 20 at their home invite with golf starting at 9 a.m.

Simulated Blood

Mrs. Winter’s 7th grade science class has been learning about body systems. To see firsthand the components of blood in action, we created simulated blood in a tub. The expandable red water beads represented red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body, the ping pong balls were the white blood cells, the red foam platelets clot the blood and the water served as the plasma for the cells to travel in. The students enjoyed getting elbow deep in a tub of blood!

FAIRBURY FBLA COMPETES AT STATE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Three Fairbury FBLA members advance to national competition following the 2016 FBLA Nebraska State Leadership Conference held April 7-9 in Omaha. The annual conference provided competition in 71 events, leadership training, networking, and fun for FBLA members across the state. Fairbury FBLA’s 15 qualifying members joined over 2800 Nebraska members and advisers to compete and celebrate another successful year in FBLA.

Throughout the leadership event, members participated in competitive events, motivational seminars, and the election of the new State Officer Team. Honorable Mention awards were announced at the second general session, recognizing those who placed in the top 4% of each event. The Awards Program held on Saturday morning announced the top eight winners in each event and revealed who would represent Nebraska FBLA at the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, this summer.

Seniors Halle Knigge and Lindsay Lee, and junior Justin Peterson presented the chapter’s American Enterprise project at the conference. This project profiled the chapter’s cookie baking business implemented with the 3^rd-grade classrooms earlier in the school year. A 15-page report was submitted in February, which was one of five selected for oral presentation at SLC. A seven-minute oral overview and Power Point were presented to a panel of three judges at the conference. The combined score of their written report and oral presentation placed third to advance to the top competition at the 2016 National Leadership Conference in June.

Freshman Isaac Robertson won the Proofreading event and placed third in the Spelling contest. Sophomore Jacob Johnson earned fifth place in the Spelling event. Junior Hannah Yantz placed fifth in Publication Design. Senior Nick Christiansen placed eighth in Job Interview. Over 337 students competed in this event, placing Nick in the top 2% of this event. Lindsay Lee received honorable mention in Accounting I and junior Justin Peterson earned an honorable mention in Securities and Investments.

Nick Christiansen, Trent Grizzle and Jacob Johnson earned the chapter’s Gold Seal Award of Merit with their Local Chapter Annual Business Report. Fairbury FBLA received the prestigious Sweepstakes Award, representing active participation in the state’s program of work. The chapter also received recognition for contributing to the Nebraska FBLA Foundation and the Nebraska March of Dimes. Fairbury FBLA was also honored for their participation in the Feed Nebraska Project through their food drive in the fall and integration of technology in chapter activities throughout the year.

Fairbury chapter members attending were: Seniors: Nick Christiansen, Lindsay Lee, Halle Knigge; Juniors: Justin Peterson, Megg Vaughn, Hannah Yantz, Anthony Moyer; Sophomores: Dawson DeBoer, Trent Grizzle, Jacob Johnson and Freshman: Destiny Brown, Nichole Harris, Devin Holliday, Mikasa Lierman, and Isaac Robertson. Adviser Melissa Dux and parent-sponsor Julie Knigge accompanied the Fairbury delegation.

FCCLA State Leadership Conference – Promoting Service

Over 1000 Nebraska FCCLA members gathered in Lincoln, Ne. April 3-5 for their annual State Leadership Conference. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and the Holiday Inn. Fairbury FCCLA officers attended the event, including Evie S., Grant S., Regan S., Macy O., RJ S., and Izzie S. and their FCCLA sponsor, Kay Onnen.

Members participated in various activities during the conference. Sunday evening the keynote speaker was Alex Sheen, founder of the Because I Said So movement, which is dedicated to the betterment of humanity by strengthening commitments through the use of promise cards.

Monday activities included community service projects and tours throughout Lincoln, as well as the STAR competitive events. Fairbury members and other FCCLA volunteers walked to the Lincoln Children’s Museum and helped to paint interior walls in the children’s lunchroom. In the afternoon members participated in State Leadership officer elections and breakout sessions. Monday evening Mrs. Onnen was recognized during the Business and Recognition session for her 25 years as a Family and Consumer Science educator and also for her retirement from the teaching profession at the end of this year.

Tuesday morning wrapped up the conference and members returned to their home towns, tired, but motivated to improve their lives, schools, and communities.

When Are We Ever Going To Use This?

“When are we ever going to use this?” That question was answered for Mrs. Kort’s college algebra class this week. Tim Watters, of Mid-West 3D Solutions, gave a presentation on 3D printers to the students.

Mr. Watters explained how a 3D printer works, showed multiple examples of objects that can be printed, and explained its applications in businesses today. One example of its current use is creating prosthetics for children. The cost of traditional appliances makes if difficult for families to afford, purchasing the multiple prosthetics necessary as a child grows. By printing these on a 3D printer, they become affordable.

The college algebra students had the chance to create their own projects. They started by drawing a design on a piece of graph paper. Then they had to write the equations of the lines and use a graphing calculator program get a digital image of their design. They then imported the design into an online drafting program that would create the image that was printed. Students were very excited to see how the printer worked and to see their designs “come to life.”

Thank you to Tim Watters and Mid-West 3D Solutions for loaning us the printer and donating the material for our students to have this great opportunity.